Bayern Munich rout Eintracht Frankfurt
IMAGE: Bayern Munich’s players celebrate after Serge Gnabry scored their fourth goal against Eintracht Frankfurt at Allianz Arena, Munich, on Sunday. Photograph: Michaela Stache/Reuters
Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich powered past third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt 4-0 with an impressive display of high-pressing football on Sunday to restore their eight-point lead over second-placed Bayer Leverkusen.
Goals from Michael Olise, Hiroki Ito, Jamal Musiala and substitute Serge Gnabry wrapped up the points.
The Bavarians were dominant throughout, while nipping any Eintracht forays in the bud and earning their first win in three matches across all competitions after two consecutive draws.
Bayern are on 58 points with reigning champions Leverkusen, 2-0 winners at Holstein Kiel on Saturday, in second place with 50. Eintracht are third on 42.
“Now we have won but we will stay calm as we did the last few days (after draws against Leverkusen last week and Celtic in the Champions League on Tuesday),” Bayern coach Vincent Kompany told a press conference.
“The couple of days leading into the game we felt the team was sharper. There were a lot of reasons for us to get a result today,” he said.
“The intensity from both sides was pretty high from the start and we managed to tilt the game in our favour. The players showed they were hungry today.”
IMAGE: Jamal Musiala scores Bayern Munich’s third goal. Photograph: Michaela Stache/Reuters
Bayern shot out of the blocks in a pulsating first half and had several golden chances, with Eintracht boxed into their own half, before Olise tapped in a Leroy Sane cut-back in stoppage time to give them a deserved lead.
Bayern, who face Leverkusen in the Champions League Round of 16 next month, suffered a blow with Joshua Kimmich taken off injured just before the break, but rebounded in the second half.
Kompany said Kimmich’s injury did not look too serious.
Bayern kept up the pressure and got a second goal through Ito in the 61st after goalkeeper Kevin Trapp misjudged a corner, making the left-back the first Japanese player to score a league goal for the Bavarians.
With Harry Kane coming on in the second half following his recovery from a calf injury, the hosts should have scored a third in the 78th but Sane fired wide In front of goal.
Musiala did it better in the 83rd, charging forward and finishing from a solo effort. With the Eintracht backline in tatters, Gnabry slotted home the fourth in stoppage time.
Real beat Girona to move level with Barcelona
IMAGE: Luka Modric celebrates scoring Real Madrid’s first goal against Girona. Photograph: Ana Beltran/Reuters
Real Madrid eased to a 2-0 home victory over Girona on Sunday thanks to a blistering first-half volley by Luka Modric and a late Vinicius Jr strike as they snapped a three-game winless run and moved up to second place in LaLiga behind Barcelona.
Reigning champions Real took a while to settle into the match but gradually began to exert control before a clearance from a corner fell to Modric, whose sublime long-range volley arrowed into the top corner in the 41st minute.
The home side’s forwards combined for the second goal in the 83rd when Kylian Mbappe played through Vinicius, who poked his shot under goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga.
Real, fresh from a 6-3 aggregate win over Manchester City in the Champions League knockout phase playoffs that took them into the last 16, are on 54 points after 25 games.
They are level with Barca, who beat Las Palmas 2-0 away on Saturday, but trail on the head-to-head count. Atletico Madrid are third with 53 after winning 3-0 at Valencia on Saturday.
It was Real’s first LaLiga win since they beat Real Valladolid last month and Modric enjoyed his goal.
“I was on my own, I controlled the ball, I hit it well and it went in. I don’t know if it’s one of the most spectacular goals (I’ve scored). It’s nice. It’s always special to score at the Bernabeu,” Modric told Real Madrid TV.
“A very important victory, we have to stay in the fight,” he added. “We played a very good game after the great night the other evening, it’s not easy after so much wear and tear to get our heads up but we did it.
“We know we have to do it every night we play and keep growing as a team. It’s a very important win and we’re still in the fight.”
IMAGE: Kylian Mbappe dribbles his way past Girona’s Arnau Martinez. Photograph: Ana Beltran/Reuters
Real’s attacking quartet of Mbappe, Brahim Diaz, Rodrygo and Vinicius kept Girona’s defence busy throughout the contest but their final ball was often lacking at crucial moments.
Vinicius, who has 24 goals in 39 games all competitions this season, wasted a bagful of chances to net his first league goal since November.
The Brazilian international rattled the crossbar with a shot from distance in the 58th minute, before firing over from close range in the 74th.
Just when it looked like it would not happen for the 24-year-old, he was played through on goal by Mbappe and ended his scoring drought.
Girona’s defeat left them 12th in the standings and dealt yet another blow to their hopes of repeating last season’s achievement of qualifying for European football.
The visitors’ best opportunity came in the 30th minute when Arnaut Danjuma played in Donny van de Beek, whose side-footed effort was expertly kept out by keeper Thibaut Courtois.
“Well, we’re a little bit more conservative … this season, we played a little bit deeper,” defender Miguel Gutierrez said.
“We tried to leave them less space in behind. But, again, with the ball we weren’t able to take our chances. And so we lost the game.”
Juvemtus edge Cagliari to continue run
IMAGE: Juventus registered their fourth victory in a row to move to 49 points. Photograph: Juventus/X
Juventus’ revival rolled on with a gritty 1-0 win at lowly Cagliari on Sunday after Dusan Vlahovic’s early goal sealed the points as they consolidated fourth spot in Serie A.
After a season of frustrating draws, Juve have had four consecutive wins and moved to 49 points, five behind third-placed Atalanta and eight adrift of leaders Inter Milan. Cagliari are 15th with 25, four points above the drop zone.
The visitors were seeking to bounce back after their Champions League campaign came to an end when they lost to PSV Eindhoven 4-3 on aggregate earlier this week.
In the 12th minute, Vlahovic beat the defence to latch onto a through ball, evading onrushing Cagliari goalkeeper Elia Caprile before finishing from a tight angle to put Juve ahead.
There was an opportunity for the visitors to double their lead minutes later when Vlahovic and Francisco Conceicao had chances but Caprile did well to block both efforts.
Juve manager Thiago Motta was left frustrated as injury-plagued Douglas Luiz’s substitute appearance just past the hour was cut short. The limping midfielder was forced off after 20 minutes, adding to the team’s growing injury concerns.
Juventus nearly went further ahead late in the second half though when Serbia forward Vlahovic raced onto a long ball and charged towards goal only to be denied by Caprile.
Juve were a threat on the counter and Randal Kolo Muani cut the ball back from the byline giving Kenan Yildiz a chance to test Caprile at the near post but the keeper made the save, leaving the visitors to head home with a narrow victory.
Hakimi’s double powers leaders PSG to victory
IMAGE: PSG remain unbeaten in the league as they stretched their winning streak in all competitions to eight games while moving on to 59 point. Photograph: Paris St Germain/X
Paris St Germain extended their lead in Ligue 1 following a 3-2 victory at Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday, courtesy of Achraf Hakimi’s double and a Ousmane Dembele strike in the second half.
PSG, who remain unbeaten in the league, stretched their winning streak in all competitions to eight games while moving on to 59 points, 13 clear of second-placed Olympique de Marseille, who were beaten 3-0 at Auxerre on Saturday.
“I think that today we showed everyone that we are capable of playing any match against any team,” PSG coach Luis Enrique told DAZN. “We feel very strong tonight, we’re in a very good phase.”
After a fairly uneventful first half, the champions found their way through a resilient Lyon defence eight minutes after the break when Hakimi slotted a powerful shot into the bottom corner off a fine Bradley Barcola cross.
Ligue 1’s top scorer Dembele doubled PSG’s lead six minutes later with a great curling shot into the far corner after a Khvicha Kvaratskhelia pass, marking his 17th league goal of the season.
The hosts pulled a goal back in the 83rd minute thanks to a Rayan Cherki goal from inside the six-yard box, but Hakimi thwarted any chance of a comeback by bagging his brace to seal the win just two minutes later.
Lyon kept up the pressure, prompting a couple of impressive saves from PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, but the Italian could not prevent Corentin Tolisso’s stoppage-time strike, which added late drama to the contest.
“Congratulations to the team, it was a tough game. The important thing is to get three points and to keep on winning this league,” said man-of-the-match Kvaratskhelia.
“It was a difficult game because they attacked right to the end. They tried to attack all the time and we had to be good at defending right to the end.”
The defeat leaves Lyon in sixth place, the Europa Conference League qualifying spot, with 36 points.
